Statements
Please find our latest statements below.
Advance Illinois Statement on Governor Pritzker’s Announcement of the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding
“For decades, Governor Pritzker has been a champion for early childhood education. We are pleased that he has made this a priority for his administration and applaud today’s announcement of the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding.”
CHICAGO, IL (December 16, 2019) Advance Illinois President Robin Steans released the following statement on today’s announcement of the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding:
“For decades, Governor Pritzker has been a champion for early childhood education. We are pleased that he has made this a priority for his administration and applaud today’s announcement of the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding.
“We are also pleased that the Governor announced a 15% Child Care Assistance Program rate increase for centers in rural counties and an across the board 5% increase statewide for centers and homes starting January 1st. These are important step towards ensuring all Illinois children have access to affordable and high quality early childhood programs and services.
“Right now, there are communities across our state that are in ‘deserts’ where there are scarce, if any, early childhood programs or services. Our children deserve better.
“It is our hope that this commission will provide the data, research and recommendations needed to give all Illinois families access to early childhood services. Advance Illinois is pleased to have been invited to serve on the commission and we look forward to this partnership that will have long term benefits for the state.”
Robin Steans
President
Advance Illinois
About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a health public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more visit advanceillinois.org.
Contact:
Roderick Hawkins, Communications Director
rhawkins@advanceillinois.org
Ammanuel M. Ayalew, Communications Associate
aayalew@advanceillinois.org
Click here to read the announcement of the governor's announcement of the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding.
Advance Illinois Responds to the Illinois State Board of Education 2019 Illinois Report Card
“The 2019 Illinois Report Card takes a major step forward by providing more data and transparency on how schools are funded and how students are performing.”
CHICAGO, IL (October 30, 2019) Advance Illinois President Robin Steans released the following statement about the Illinois State Board of Education 2019 Illinois Report Card:
“The 2019 Illinois Report Card takes a major step forward by providing more data and transparency on how schools are funded and how students are performing. By shining a light on new data, including site-based expenditures, student groups, and Civil Rights Data Collection, the Illinois State Board of Education empowers people to have more informed conversations about the public education system generally, and with an equity lens.”
“Upon preliminary review of the report card, we applaud the progress that has been made in some areas of student achievement, but there is still significant work to be done, and major inequities remain. We look forward to using the data provided in the report card to inform conversations with policy makers and education champions across the state.”
Robin Steans
President
Advance Illinois
###
About Advance Illinois
Advance Illinois is an independent policy and advocacy organization working toward a health public education system that enables all students to achieve success in college, career and civic life. Since its founding in 2008, Advance Illinois has become a nationally recognized thought leader in education policy advocacy. To learn more visit advanceillinois.org.
Statement on the Appointment of Illinois' State Superintendent of Education and ISBE's Board of Directors
“We are thrilled by the announcement that Dr. Carmen Ayala has been appointed as Illinois’ State Superintendent of Education. Dr. Ayala will be our state's first female superintendent, as well as the first Latina to take the helm of the state's schools.”
“We are thrilled by the announcement that Dr. Carmen Ayala has been appointed as Illinois’ State Superintendent of Education. Dr. Ayala will be our state's first female superintendent, as well as the first Latina to take the helm of the state's schools. She has been a trailblazer on behalf of kids throughout her career, most recently ensuring equity for all students through her leadership in passing an equitable school funding formula. We have also seen remarkable progress made in student outcomes during her tenure as superintendent at Berwyn North.
We are equally pleased to hear the selection for the Illinois State Board of Education's board. Together, these new members have spent decades upon decades championing a high quality education for Illinois’ students. We look forward to working with Dr. Ayala and the board during this period of transition and for the next four years.”
###
Advance Illinois is a bipartisan education policy and advocacy organization committed to ensuring all children have access to a world-class education from birth to postsecondary and/or career. For more information please go to advanceillinois.org or follow us on Facebook @AdvanceIllinois or Twitter @AdvanceIllinois.
Contact:
Anna Schneider, Senior Communications Associate
217-242-9645
aschneider@advanceillinois.org
Statement on the Governor’s Budget Address
The below statement can be attributed to Robin Steans, President of Advance Illinois: “Gov. JB Pritzker’s address today solidifies his promise to invest in all students statewide. We applaud him for ensuring that investment in public education is the state’s top priority.”
The below statement can be attributed to Robin Steans, President of Advance Illinois: “Gov. JB Pritzker’s address today solidifies his promise to invest in all students statewide. We applaud him for ensuring that investment in public education is the state’s top priority. Investing in the entire continuum of education— early childhood through career— will begin to restore our state’s devastated economy and ensure that our communities across the state can thrive.Gov. Pritzker proposed increases over last year’s funding to early childhood, K-12, and higher education. His proposal includes:
an additional $100 million to early childhood education
an additional $375 million to K-12
a 5 percent increase for community colleges and public universities
$50 million for MAP grants
This step towards equity for our most underserved students and communities is a huge step in the right direction, especially for children birth to 5 years old. But, we know there are difficult challenges ahead including the need for broader fiscal health to sustain these important and necessary investments. We hope the Governor and legislators will tackle these issues in a serious way. We are ready for this new path forward and are eager to work together toward achieving the world-class public education system we know our Illinois students deserve.”
###
Advance Illinois is a bipartisan education policy and advocacy organization committed to ensuring all children have access to a world-class education from birth to postsecondary and/or career. For more information please go to advanceillinois.org or follow us on Facebook @AdvanceIllinois or Twitter @AdvanceIllinois.
Contact:
Anna Schneider,
Senior Communications Associate
217-242-9645
aschneider@advanceillinois.org
Advance Illinois Announces Leadership Transition
January 24, 2019 Chicago, IL – Advance Illinois announced today that Robin Steans will be returning to Advance Illinois as President effective Friday, January 25. Robin succeeds Ginger Ostro, who has served as Executive Director of the organization for the past three years.
January 24, 2019
Chicago, IL – Advance Illinois announced today that Robin Steans will be returning to Advance Illinois as President effective Friday, January 25. Robin succeeds Ginger Ostro, who has served as Executive Director of the organization for the past three years. Robin was the founding Executive Director of Advance Illinois at its inception in 2008 and was instrumental in building it into one of the most recognized and well-regarded education policy and advocacy organizations in the state and across the country.“Under Robin’s leadership, Advance Illinois will continue its important work, building on recent progress and helping us shape an equally dynamic set of priorities as we head into our next ten years,” wrote John Edwardson and Marin Gjaja, co-chairs of the board of directors at Advance Illinois in a recent letter to stakeholders. “You can expect us to continue to work on fully funding the new formula, focusing on quality instruction, ensuring all children get a strong, early start, and finding new and innovative ways to create a culture of continuous improvement.”Robin, a former public school teacher in Boston, San Francisco, and Chicago, has been a driving force in public education for over 25 years. A Chicago public school parent herself, Robin has worked with stakeholders, families and community leaders to advocate for policies that improve student outcomes for all children from birth through college or career. Among other notable accomplishments, Robin was instrumental in the state’s recent success in creating a more equitable K-12 school funding formula.
About Advance Illinois:
Advance Illinois is a bipartisan education policy and advocacy organization committed to ensuring all children have access to a world class education from birth to postsecondary and/or career. For more information please go to advanceillinois.org or follow us on Facebook @AdvanceIllinois or Twitter @AdvanceIllinois.
###